Radiometer for measuringa temperature of semi-transparent material



mu-l L 'gw i 'A l Y Y fi? 1-21 (Kx @19m M2 3,352,155 i NW M? E96? R. c. BENZ Y RADIOMETER FOR MEASURING A TEMPERATURE OF v SEMI-TRANSPARENT MATERIAL Filed Feb. 12, 1965 /4'1 ,V1 7 8 I3 l 3 9 V` //0 ll ,1 W I: #i

b l l l ffvgfg A E /24 2 W4 5 OBJECT OP /O/VAL L HUE/Q g E im m @L .m l

#Jn/Af? BLADE- OPAQUE @LAD/ hmmgm? if] ,Aw/Af? BLADE `0PAOU5 BLADE m/ENTOR.

A TTORMY r OM en' l L rl ago The? l .tu ted btates .thinet it @is ice i s seemed niiff. "i4, loro? proximatcly 50 percent between 2h and 16u and, therefore, the mask and opaque blades are so proportioned that they let through one-half of the cross-section of the entrance aperture. As a result the background, behaving assaise impiantistica itin/reunirse a 'rune saa'ii-riiarsseauatsr r Richard S. lieitzi N w trier t.

E: aineeriu; Chargers; il'oiiijiiocu u'Eo'kitiori 5 21.8 a black body* or a gray body does Pot halle lts racha' 3dB-,vare tion chopped at all because the proportion going through Ficdleh, l2, 1965, Serafn. 432,096 the opening in the mask when opaque blades are end Claims. (Ci, *lL-355) countered lets through the same radiation as passes n through the whole ofthe aperture cross-section when the 10- plastic. blades are interposed. The radiometer uses a non- ABSTRACT GF 'PIE DSSLSURE selective detector such as a tlierinistor bolometer or A mdmmer fGr the measurement of temperature OI. thrernopile which responds uniformly through the range thickness of semi-transparent substances having absorption I lmrared selected ffjr he measurement' lm the Case of bands in a particular radiation range and particularly in Mylar 1the nature of its absorption spectrum is s uch that the infrared, having a non-Selective detector responding it 1S mvamagfous to use a brozid band m me mfmred to the range of radiations involved, a mask and chopper *or C X'mpie om Z/f to 16 which has the advantage of Closely adjacent to each other to be Substantially in om providing a reasonable amount of energy. ln the case of plane, on which plane the entrance aperture of the radi- Some O@ mai'rll Sufh as polyethylene mefs may be omcter is imaged, the chopper having blades of the semiuse@ passmg radiamlf* m a narrlwer band mcmdmg 012e transparent material being tested, the radiation passing of me Shari?. apsorp'n bands m every @Se a Suitable through musk and chopper being focused onto the radif.- range OF ramatlols will be Chosen depending opi the na" tion detector, and an A C ampher cmecd to the ture of the 1material and the temperature of which is to output of the detector. be measlrc@ The use of filters, which do not need to be excessively "mm sharp cutting, permits operation under certain conditions Radimetcrs and pamcumv infrared radio'mers, where otherwise the accuracyl of the instrument would have been used for many veus to measure the temperzv be reduced. One such situation is represented by materials, ture of various objects at a distance by producingy an outs uch as polyethylene Where 'there are Gilly@ f CW absorp' put which is a function ot' the infrared radiation received im bands' The :result 1S that tha dlqcmmmatlol by the from the Object the temperature of which is to be instrument is between two rather intense radiations and mCaSmCCL TWO problems arise one is presemed by the hence s utfers from the difficulty of measuring accurately fact thzwthc target the temperature Ol. which is to be s iiiall'differences between large quantities. ftnother condirneasured, may be small so that the radiometer will see h o is Presented Where the backgrfmd l? aba much background as well as target in its field of View. This hlhr temperamfe man the maeml Whlch 1s to be problem is encountered not only with semi-transparent 3D measured' In Such 9356s the mdmion from 'file bfck' materials, such as plastics, but also with targets which ground may be SO hlgh that the accuracy of dlscrlmfna' behave more or less as black bOdeS A number of med? tion between background and target becomes insufficient ods have been proposed md effectively used for ds for reliable temperature measurement. In Stich cases tinguishing a small target from a larger background, A Slmpl Blier? 'are Sad Whlch 'Pass a narrower Wavelength either uniform or nonuniform, but the 4methods are not D bar ld mdudmg one or more absrpun bands 0f the-ma' effective for temperature measurement of materials which temd but; of murga the band l? Wlder than any Single transmit Considerable bands in the infrared. band. This does not reduce significantly the signal from The Second problem is presented bv tha fact that Semp the material to be measured but greatly reduces the iutransparent materials such as plastics do not behave as www of the bakgmundblacl; bodies because they absorb only in certain por- 40 lceferm'e' @gam '[0 the typical @Xpi 0f Myl 2l tions of the infrared spectrum and, therefore, emit only umlomly black Or gray background is not chopped at in such portions. all because the same amount of radiation passes regard- There are a large number of materials which are seini- 1055 0f Whhe im Opaque blad@ 0f the Chopper with s i .s v t transparent pnmculadv m the Infrared @ne of The most suitable restricted opening is encoantered by the radiomcommon is polyglycol tcrephthalate, which is sold under @lef b @am of Whether l larger CTOSSSCOH P35565 through the trademark Mylan This abbreviated name will be ih? blClCS Of Mylar. On the-other'hand, if there is an used n the Specicaton. other plastics Such as polyCt-ip objectmade lof Mylar in the field of View ofthe radioineter ylcne, polypropylene nylon, polyvjnylidenc Chloride, Cel.. lflClldllOl'l .from l be ChppGd bClUSG ClDlS Cilly lopliane, cellulose esters such as cellulose acetate and the ai the pomsvile@ 1t absorbs and l0' the' Sam@ CXYGD- like are also typical examples. Mylar has a spectrum with JD Thus, the ffldmlon from ih@ Millf obl@Ct 13 Chopped be" a large number of absorption maxima between 2u and cause the Mylar blades absorb in exactly the infrared 16u. Some of these absorption bands are fairly wide. Poly- T3112@ Vl/hef@ the obl@CIE cm1@- Looking at il mother Way ethylene has only a few very narrow absorption bands. ChOPPlIlg 1S. efleCted by 11m/111g blade WhiCh are Of the same material and, therefore, have absorption bands that Summa'y of [he Inventum 60 match the emission bands of the material in question. Essentially in the present invention a reticle is used The instrument, therefore, operates by producing a spec- Witli alternate blades of opaque material willi openings, tographic null for background Objects, adjustable if desired, of definite size and blades made of Reference has been made to the fact that while a thin pieces of the material the temperature of which is to radiometer receiving only infrared radiation is preferred be measured. The opening in the opaque blades, which 6D the invention is not limited to it. In theory any radiation may be effected by a suitable adjustable mask, is so chosen can be used in which the material to be measured has that it presents a cross-section of only part of the image sharp absorption bands. However, the use of visible radiaot the entrance aperture of the radiometer in the plane of tion, and to a lesser extent very short Wave infrared radiathe reticle. This proportion corresponds to the general tion, produces complications because the intense illumioverall transmission through the plastic blades. For examnation in the visible light by the sun or other illuminants ple, in the case of 1 mil Mylar the transmission is apcan seriously degrade accuracy because then the material y* 1 In v not only emits by reason of its own temperature but also retlects the short wave radiation and this latter can introduce a spurious signal. Gt course, it all ambient short wave radiation is eliminated, that is to say measurements are jtaken in substantial darkness, the same degree of acc .racy .is obtained with a shorter wave radiation. However, this imposes quite a limitation on the use ot the instrument and for this reason the modification using radiation in the infrared is preferred.

Brief description of the drawings FIG. l is a rough diagrammatic representation of the optical path in a radiometer.

FiG. 2 is an elevation of the chopper with a semitransparcnt blade in the radiometcr beam, and

PlG. 3 is a similar elevation ot the chopper with an opaque blade in the radiometer beam.

e Description of the preferred embodiments FIG. 1 shows, in extremely simplified diagrammatic 'form, a radiometer of the present invention. An object, fthe temperature of which is to be measured, is shown as :a piece ot Mylar at i. A portion of the radiometer ;housing 14 is shown with an opening 13 constituting Vthe entrance aperture of the instrument. A mask 2 is provided with an aperture 3. Behind the mask there is a vrotating chopper turned by a shaft S connected to Iconventional driving means (not shown). chopper, fas will be seen in F-GS. 2 and 3, consists of a central portion with projections 7 of opaque material. In between lthese projections are inserts il forming blades ot the inalterial the temperature of which is to be measured, in ithis typical example, Mylar.

it will be seen that in FIG. 2 the opening in the mask on which the entrance aperture of the instrument is imaged is wholly contained in a Mylar blade. Therefore, when such a blade is in the beam of the radiomcter the whole cross-section is received. En FIG. 3 it is shown that the opening 3 is partly obscured by the projection i of opaque material. In the'example given the cross-section is half the entrance aperture image because the transmission of Mylar from 2u to 16a is approximately one-half. Radiation passing through the chopper is focused by a lens ft onto a detector 9 which may be a thermistor bolometer or a thermopile. The placement of the detector is such that the target is imaged on the piane of the detector.

When the instrument operates, a uniform background is not chopped, hence there is no AC signal from the detector 9 and the conventional AC amplifier (not shown) is blind to unchopped radiation. This is symbolized by showing a capacitor 2.8 in the output of the detector ln conventional AC amplitiers this capacitor, of course, is part of the amplifier itself. Now if there is an object of Mylar in the iield of View ot the radiometer radiations from it will be chopped because halt ot the radiations pass through in the chopper position ot FG. I5 but in the chopper position of FiG. 2- the Mylar blade completely absorbs radiation from a Mylar target. As a result there will be an AC signal produced from the detector 9 only by reason of radiation from the Mylar detector and the radiometer can be suitably calibrated, if desired, so that the instrument output meter reads in temperature.

It will be noted that the proportion of the aperture obscured by the opaque projections 7 depends on the particular material for which the instrument is to be used. It the temperature of another material, for example, polyethylene is to be measured a different chopper can be substituted with polyethylene blades 8 and with projections 7 covering a different proportion of the aperture image. With polyethylene which does not have many wide absorption bands radiation rorn a black body will pass through more readily. in other words, there will be less than percent absorption. Correspondingly, therefore, the blade 7 will not project as tar as in the drawings so Cil that the net aperture opening will correspond to the trans- `sion of the polyethylene. Because of the more extended transmission of polyethylene, somewhat improved accuracy be obtained by introducing a tilter i2 which is shown in dashed lues in FIG. l.

it will be seen that in order to operate the present invention requires some means for providing an opening of predetermined size when an opaque blade is in the beam. The method of varying this by using interchangeable choppers, which is iilustrated in the drawings, is only one of many reasons which can be used. The same etteet can be achieved by moving the mask or the chopper in their planes. This in indicated by a doubl arrow in 1 and can be by means ot a micrometric screw or any other conventional adjusting means which permits precision. Now it the radiomcter is to measure other substances suitable inserts 8 of the substance can replace the Mylar and the instrument can be calibrated against a uniform background by moving the axis ot the chopper until the background radiation is not chopped. Any other mechanism by which the cross-section of thc beam is varied when the opaque blades are in the beam may be used. rthe invention while requiring a delinite cross-sectional relation to the semi-transparent material to be measured is not concerned with any particular mechanism for producing such an etlect. Two simple ways ot doing it have been described above and are merefy to be considered as illustrative examples. i

in FlG. i no lens is used as a collecting me'. ns. This, however', is only a typical diagrammatic representation and catoptric or catadieptric collecting optics may be used as in various standard radiometers, As pointed out above this portion ot the instrument is not changed by the presi-nt invention. lt is also possible for mask and chopper to be interchanged. All that is required is that the two be suticientiy close together so that the entrance aperture can be imaged on both of them.

rEhe instrument has been described in connection with the measurement of temperature of a semi-transparent material. This is the most important single field of utility. However, it the temperature of the semi-transparent material is known, it is possible to use the instrument of the present invention to measure the thickness or" the material because the amount of absorption and hence radiation follows an exponential expression similar to that ot Beers law for absorption of radiation. If the temperature is known then the amount ot radiation is a Fupntio '-2 l, cm f l B mbkn 1' i .c n or 1.o tnrckn s ot the macria y surta te ci. i

bration the instrument ot the present invention can then read thickness. it should be noted that when thickness measurements are being made there are very detinitc lirnits on how thick the material may be because the thickness enters in as a negative exponent ot e. After the thickness reaches a certain value, depending on the material, then radiation from the molecules which has to pass through a considerable layer ot the material becomes absorbed and so boy-ond a certain thickness additional molecules do not increase the absorption and hence there can be no greater radiation. These limits, while theoretically real, fortunately do not interfere significantly with most thickness measurements because for thicknesses well below l0 mils the equilibrium thickness is not eached and most semi-transparent materials in sheet form are from a traction of a mil to 2 or 3 mils. In such cases the prevent invention, with suitable calibration, operates etcctively as a thickness gage when the temperature of the semi-transparent material is known, This opens up another field ot continuous thickness measurement of a moving sheet which is of practical importance in the manufacture of many plastic sheets. When the instrument is to be used as a thickness gage the bla es i rust either be sutliciently thick so that they have reached practically absorption in the bands or, it thinner blades arc to be used, it is essential that they be of quite uniform thickness. The exact blade thickness is not important so long as it is uniform as it is taken into consideration when the instrument is calibrated.

I claim:

1. 1n a radiometer for the measurement of temperature or thickness of semi-transparent substances having absorption bands in a predetermined radiation range, in which there is provided with aa entrance aperture, a spectrally nonselective radiation detector and AC processing circuits therefor, the improvement which comprises (a) a mask having an opening and chopper located closely adjacent to the mask and positioned so that the entrance aperture `of the radiometer is imaged on the mask opening and on the plane of the chopper,

(b) the chopper comprising alternate blades of opaque material and material corresponding to that the temperature or thickness of which is to be measured, and

(c) the opaque blades projecting only so far into the beam through the mask opening that transmission of black body radiation through the restricted opening when the opaque blades are in the beam is equal to the transmission through the blades of the semitransparent material, whereby radiation from objects of the semi-transparent material is chopped but uniform background is not chopped and so does not produce an AC signal from the detector.

2. A radiometer according to claim 1 provided with means for restricting radiation into the radiometer to aV predetermined band in the infrared, said band including at least one strong absorption band in the semi-transparent material, the temperature of which is to be measured.

3. An instrument according to claim 2 in which the semi-transparent material forming alternate bands in the chopper is polyglycol terephthalate.

A- 4. An instrument according to claim 2 in which the semi-transparent material forming alternate bands in the chopper is polyethylene.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,356,238 l/1944 Gillett et al Z- 226 X 2,909,924 10/1959 Flook et al. 73-355 OTHER REFERENCES Rose et al., The Condensed Chemical Bictionary, 6th edition, Rheingold, page 771, copyright 1961.

LOUIS R. PRINCE, Primary Examiner.

F. SHOON, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A RADIOMETER FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF TEMPERATURE OR THICKNESS OF SEMI-TRANSPARENT SUBSTANCES HAVING ABSORPTION BANDS IN A PREDETERMINED RADIATION RANGE, IN WHICH THERE IS PROVIDED WITH AN ENTRANCE APERTURE, A SPECTRALLY NONSELECTIVE RADIATION DETECTOR AND AC PROCESSING CIRCUITS THEREFOR, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES (A) A MASK HAVING AN OPENING AND CHOPPER LOCATED CLOSELY ADJACENT TO THE MASK AND POSITIONED SO THAT THE ENTRANCE APERTURE TO THE MASK AND POSITIONED SO THAT THE MASK OPENING AND ON THE PLANE OF THE CHOPPER, (B) THE CHOPPER COMPRISING ALTERNATE BLADES OF OPAQUE MATERIAL AND MATERIAL CORRESPONDING TO THAT THE TEMPERATURE OR THICKNESS OF WHICH IS TO BE MEASURED, AND (C) THE OPAQUE BLADES PROJECTING ONLY SO FAR INTO THE BEAM THROUGH THE MASK OPENING THAT TRANSMISSION OF BLACK BODY RADIATION THROUGH THE RESTRICTED OPENING WHEN THE OPAQUE BLADES ARE IN THE BEAM IS EQUAL TO THE TRANSMISSION THROUGH THE BLADES OF THE SEMITRANSPARENT MATERIAL, WHEREBY RADIATION FROM OBJECTS OF THE SEMI-TRANSPARENT MATERIAL IS CHOPPED BUT UNIFORM BACKGROUND IS NOT CHOPPED AND SO DOES NOT PRODUCE AN AC SIGNAL FROM THE DETECTOR. 